Image courtesy of Allergan
Speaking of breast augmentation, Dr. Weintraub and I met with our local Allergan rep at the Duet office a little while ago. The rep showed us an interesting package the company just started promoting a few months ago.
At the risk of sounding like a corporate shill, I'll go on, but only because I genuinely think it's a neat idea.
Called their "pre-consultation kit", anyone interested in breast augmentation can send away for this package, which includes information about augmentation (both a booklet and a DVD), a bra, and best yet - "sample implants" to try out in said bra.
It's pretty brilliant because it allows women to toy around with "implants" in the privacy of their own homes. You can imagine inviting a couple girl friends over, opening a bottle of wine, and cracking up over the grown-up attempts at "we must, we must, we must increase our bust". . .
The "implants" in the kit aren't real surgical implants, of course - they're plastic, filled with mineral oil - which give just a general approximation of size and feel.
At the office, at our consultations and pre-op visits, we do a similar process with a range of real surgical implant samples. We often get asked by women (and sometimes, the men who accompany them) if they can take a few home for a sort of "test drive". The problem was, the silicone gel-filled samples are so irresistible to squeeze, that a lot of the samples never made it back to the office.
The kit from Allergan helps solve that problem - and provides a closer idea of what breast implants might look like in a bra and clothes than the old stand-bys, rolled up socks or sandwich baggies filled with rice.
Perhaps the most redeeming feature of this offer is the handful of rebates. You do have to purchase the kit, and pay for shipping; but if you really are interested, you do get a rebate on your future implant purchase, which evens out the expense.
And even if you're not actually interested in breast augmentation, the kit includes rebates that can be used for Botox and Juvederm, which are worth more than the cost of the kit. . .
